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Why Turkish government turned a blind eye to draining, excavation of Ice Age lake

Turkish authorities allowed an excavation and draining of the 12,000-year-old Fathomless Lake in pursuit of a rumor that there was Roman treasure on the lake bottom. The lake was drained, revealing no treasure.
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Why is the Turkish government so desperate that it would go on a treasure hunt at the cost of wiping out a 12,000-year-old lake, one of the natural wonders of the Black Sea region?

On Nov. 6, Turkish public witnessed an unbelievable greed that destroyed an Ice Age lake located in Turkey’s Black Sea city of Gumushane, inflicting irreversible damage to nature. 

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